The Vitality Blast is in full swing as the North and South group begin to take shape.
Week two of the competition saw Northamptonshire Steelbacks extend their lead at the top of the North group with a fifth consecutive win ahead of Lancashire Lightning, who suffered rare successive home defeats.
In the South, there are three teams level at the top on 12 points, including Somerset who won their third game in a row but the defending champions Gloucestershire remain winless.
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Steelbacks go marching on
Perhaps the surprise package of the early stages has been the form of Northamptonshire Steelbacks, winning all five of their matches so far and already looking set for consecutive quarter-final appearances after just one in seven years between 2017-2023.
Darren Lehmann‘s side had a highly productive week on the road, with victory over Lancashire Lightning securing a hat-trick of wins and giving them breathing space at the top of the North group.
Batting first on each occasion, Northants have posted significant totals of 194, 190 and 180, thanks largely to anchor roles by captain David Willey and veteran Ravi Bopara, whilst opener Ricardo Vasconcelos and wicketkeeper Lewis McManus have also made valuable contributions.
They have been clinical in the field, with only Derbyshire Falcons managing to push them close.
The experienced seamer Ben Sanderson is enjoying a highly productive campaign which included astonishing figures of 6-8 against Worcestershire Rapids, whilst fit-again pace bowler George Scrimshaw also claimed a career-best 4-19 at Emirates Old Trafford.
Eagles and Falcons yet to soar
Whilst Northants and Somerset remain unbeaten, three sides are still to get off the mark, one of which are the holders Gloucestershire who have lost their first three games.
Meanwhile, Essex Eagles and Derbyshire Falcons are both winless in four outings and face a struggle to avoid being cut adrift from the race for the top four places.
2023 runners-up Essex narrowly missed out on net run-rate last year but find themselves well off the pace this time around, mirroring their early season struggles in the County Championship, unable to defend batting first in three instances following an opening night thumping at Hampshire Hawks.
The side has remained largely the same, though they have been without key batter Jordan Cox through injury, whilst Pakistan seamer Mohammad Amir has struggled on his return with just two wickets at 75.50 and an economy rate in excess of 10 runs per over.
Meanwhile, perennial strugglers Derbyshire have failed to build on their momentum from the four-day format and look set for another disappointing white ball campaign, despite the rising expectations under Mickey Arthur to add to their only Finals Day appearance in 2019.
A lack of potency in the bowling attack and an over-reliance on 19-year-old Afghanistan spinner AM Ghazanfar to produce has been evident, whilst the batting has been constrained by the regular loss of early wickets in the powerplay.
Zak Crawley gears up for India test
The form of the England Test opener is a regular talking point, even more so ahead of a bumper six months for the national team.
A century against Zimbabwe last month is likely to have retained his spot in the near future, despite fairly underwhelming Championship form in the lead up but whilst the majority of his England teammates have been involved in the white ball series against West Indies, Crawley has had the opportunity to spend time in the middle for Kent Spitfires with impressive success.
Often overlooked for his capability in the shorter format of the game, Crawley has struck 215 runs in four matches at an average of 71.66, with two half-centuries and a strike rate of 172.
Only Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings has scored more runs in the competition so far, whilst his total of 12 sixes is only matched by Sussex‘s James Coles.
His batting rhythm has been the polar opposite to this time last year when he was similarly searching for form ahead of the Test summer but only managed 82 runs in eight T20 innings.
Old guard leading the way
T20 increasingly becomes a stage for younger players to showcase their talent but so far the 2025 Blast has also proven the value of those more experienced.
None more so was that evident than at the Central Co-op County Ground in Derby last Wednesday when Blast legends Ravi Bopara and Samit Patel both produced superb batting displays for their respective sides.
Forty-year-old Bopara, who has 483 T20 appearances to his name, made 84 off 46 balls in an expertly-judged innings to recover the visitors from 24-3 to 194-6, before Derbyshire skipper Patel led the chase with an unbeaten 50-ball 83 in his 415th T20 match, though it proved not quite enough to get over the line in the final over.
James Anderson has demonstrated his ability to still perform with the white ball, taking two three-wicket hauls in three games for Lancashire at an economy rate of just 6.45.
Ben Sanderson’s stunning blitz against Worcestershire which included a hat-trick propelled the 36-year-old to the top of wicket-taking charts with 14 scalps, an effort that was matched by Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali who also took a hat-trick and a career-best 6-fer in the Bears’ comfortable win over Derbyshire.
With the bat, World Cup winner Jason Roy is one of only three players to surpass 200 runs so far and showing positive signs for Surrey after a lean few years, whilst fellow former England man Dawid Malan scored a rapid 88 to help Yorkshire earn their first win against Leicestershire Foxes.
By Dom Harris
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